I'm the Director of Sportsimpacts and an Economics Professor at the George Herbert Walker School of Business at Webster University in St Louis, MO.
I've conducted research at Super Bowls, Final Fours, All-Star Games, Ryder Cups, and numerous Division I NCAA Championship events.
www.sportsimpacts.net
www.webster.edu/business/depts/

If you had never heard of Florida Gulf Coast University prior to Friday night, consider yourself normal.

But after two convincing and entertaining victories over traditional blue-blood Georgetown (who ended the season as #16 in the BPI) and recently respectable San Diego State (#27 in BPI), consider yourself abnormal if you cannot appreciate what the F.G.C.U. Eagles (#132 in the BPI) are in the midst of accomplishing financially for both their conference and university.

The Atlantic Sun Conference is among the weakest of the 32 Division I conferences. As such, the schools that represent this conference in March Madness are often much like John Calipari’s recruits at Kentucky…”one and done”. For his recruits, one season before entering the NBA. For the Atlantic Sun, one game before bowing out of the Big Dance.

Since NCAA distributions from March Madness for any given year are based on the accumulated units from the prior 6 years, then the Atlantic Sun is guaranteed at least a “six unit payout” each year…but no more than 6 units IF none of their teams win a tournament game over that span. Based on varying “unit values” over the last 6 years (note that the value of the unit slowly escalates over the course of the NCAA’s 14-year deal with CBS/Turner), the Atlantic Sun is likely receiving between $1.3-1.5 million in 2012-13 based on the conference’s performance in the last 6 NCAA men’s basketball tournaments. If divided evenly across all 10 Atlantic Sun teams, that’s roughly $130-150 K per school per year.

By advancing to the Sweet 16 in the 2012-13 tournament, and even if no other conference member plays more than one tournament game over the next 6 years, the Eagles by virtue of this Sweet 16 run have increased the future conference revenue allocations by at least $500,000-$600,000…depending upon the exact escalating “unit value” over the course of the next 6 years.

This may be small potatoes for the largest Division I athletic programs. But consider that:

- From the same source and reporting year, the Atlantic Sun’s men’s basketball programs collectively generated $11.96 million in revenues ($62.3 million for all men’s and women’s sports).

In short, FGCU’s run will increase the conference’s basketball revenues by roughly 4-5% over the next 6 years. And it could be an even larger financial impact if the Eagles soar above the Gators on Friday night in North Texas.

It is far too early to conclude that FGCU’s run in this year’s tournament will boost applications for enrollments or boost alumni donations to either the athletics department or the university at large. That evidence may start to build slowly vis-a-vis visits to their home page, calls to their admissions office, and data which may accrue between now and summer regarding endowments.

That said, it is certainly true based on historical evidence that schools which experience unexpected athletic success in high-profile events can generate significant and positive visibility, exposure, and brand enhancement for their universities. Though companies such as Joyce Julius are experts in the field of quantifying such benefits, it is unquestionable that the cost of buying equivalent air time to generate similar visibility and exposure is substantial.

Through sustained success at the mid-major level, Gonzaga has parlayed years of on-court success into millions in exposure and academic endowments. In a similar fashion, Butler University parlayed back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Finals into eventually moving from the Horizon League to the Atlantic Ten and now the new Big East with its new national television contract with the new FS1 sports network launching in August. On smaller scales, George Mason and VCU have enjoyed similar bursts in visibility owing to their unexpected March Madness successes.

Florida coach Billy Donovan once played for an upstart Providence College that reached the Final Four during the 1987-88 season. This Friday night, Coach Donovan will have to squelch the upstart FGCU Eagles.

Whether he succeeds at this task, Florida Gulf Coast has already succeeded at capturing the imagination of sports fans while generating millions in future NCAA allocations for the Atlantic Sun Conference and millions in brand enhancement for their Fort Myers-based university.

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